Well, it’s a rainy afternoon here in my hometown, so it seems like a good time for a brief note — meaning my opinion — on the state of things on the front.

The civil war in Iraq grows exponentially more chaotic and psychotic every day. To the extent that it was ever under the influence of the Bush administration, that illusion has dissipated. It’s a runaway train, with a monkey playing engineer. The dying is far from over, on every side.

OK, take a deep breath and enjoy some Grateful Dead lyrics.

Once upon a time there was an engineer.
Drove a locomotive both far and near.
Accompanied by a monkey that would sit on a stool
Watching everything the engineer would do
One day the engineer wanted a bite to eat,
He left the monkey sitting on the driver’s seat,
The monkey pulled the throttle, the locomotive jumped the gun
And did 80 miles an hour down the mainline run.

Big locomotive right on time, big locomotive coming down the line.
Big locomotive No. 99, left the engineer with a worried mind.

The engineer called up the dispatcher on the phone,
To tell him all about his locomotive was gone.
Dispatcher got on the wire, switch operator to the right,
Cause the monkey’s got the main line sewed up tight.
The switch operator got the message on time,
Said there’s a Northbound livin’ on the same main line,
Open up the switch I’m gonna let him through the hole,
Cause the monkey’s got the locomotive under control.

Big locomotive right on time, big locomotive coming down the line.
Big locomotive No. 99, left the engineer with a worried mind.

I heard Bob Weir introduce that song – which is a kick in the pants live – as a “tragedy narrowly averted.” I don’t think we can expect such an outcome Over There. Our monkey’s lost his mandate, along with his marbles. And besides moving Rice up to Powell’s job, can you think of one significant White House shakeup? Well, they did get a new chef.

So we’ve got tragedy unavoidable in Iraq, and Iran has switched into serious Bond James Bond crisis mode, and have you noticed how wobbly Tony Blair looks on the telly lately? Stick a fork in ‘im, he’s done.

How’s your disposable income to debt ratio, neighbor? Would you vote for W again?